Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Weather-wise, this was one of the best of the year. ☀️
I’d waited for a good weather window before heading to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
The Zugspitze, at 2,962 m (9,718 ft) above sea level, is the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains and the highest mountain in Germany.
It lies south of the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, and the Austria–Germany border is on its western summit. …
On the flanks of the Zugspitze are two glaciers, the largest in Germany: the Northern Schneeferner with an area of 30.7 hectares and Höllentalferner with an area of 24.7 hectares.
Shrinking of the Southern Schneeferner led to the loss of glacier status in 2022.
Wanting to beat the rush — as much as possible — I caught the first cable car up in the morning from the Germany side. And immediately headed up to the former “glacier“.
Once 1.5km thick, it may be gone entirely by 2035.
This is the Zugspitze plateau. You can do a self-guided glacier walk. Or sign-up for a guided tour.
From here, I had to take another cable car up to the summit.
Three cable cars run to the top of the Zugspitze. …
The rack railway and the Eibsee Cable Car, the third cableway, transport an average of 500,000 people to the summit each year. …
… Did I miss the race? 😀
I didn’t bother getting in the long line to scramble up to the summit Cross.
Too. Many. Tourists.
BUT … all-in-all, I’m glad I joined the mob atop Zugspitze. The vistas are fantastic on a clear day.
I had been considering hiking down — until I heard it was 7-10 hours!
Instead, I descended by cable car and hiked Eibsee. 😀
Circuiting the lake was much easier.
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